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I gotta say I could not tell the difference. I mean I could hear a slight difference, but which is which?? Toss a coin.

Bass 1: That sounds like a P!
Bass 2: No wait, THAT sounds like a P!
Bass 1: Oh that's gotta be the P!
...etc., etc.

As with Rockdoc, I thought there would be much more difference. Also, in most situations I would expect a certain amount of hum from the J with only the 1 pup and the tone wide open, while not so much with the split coil P.

As he mentioned, there are a lot of variables in comparing the two basses. Changing one of them can significantly alter the results.

My two 32” Warmoth SSB Ps have alder bodies and are within a couple of ounces of the same weight. Both have DiMarzio Area Ps. One has a rosewood fretboard and a Badass II bridge. The other has a maple fretboard and a Gotoh bridge. Originally, the one with the rosewood board had DR Nickle Low Riders and the one with the maple board had DR Sunbeams.

With the same amp settings, the rosewood seemed to be missing some top and the maple seemed to be missing some bottom. Switching which set was on which bass improved both and made them sound more similar. It might be interesting someday to see what switching the necks would do.

(This message was last edited by Rick Knight at 01:16 PM, May 26th, 2017)

Now, take those same two basses and put them in a band situation. Those subtle nuances go away, making it even harder to distinguish any difference.

My stable includes pbass, SCPB, j-style (not a Fender), G&L L2500, Singray, plus some others. Most are strung with flats. The L2500 and Stingray have DR Low-riders, which are not clanky and are low-mid focused. They all sound slightly different, but still sound like me.

How do I choose which bass to take to a gig? The big band always gets a pbass with flats, because I don't want an aggressive sound. The choice for the rock band depends on 1) do I want 4 or 5 strings, 2) what goes with the color shirt I am wearing, 3) what is my whim of the day.

I will admit that my playing style favors a Precision bass. I like a beefy sound. I don't slap. I don't get fancy. I play the minimum number of notes that supports the song. I am a bottom feeder and am proud of it.

Given that in this example, the 2 sound nearly identical, the P would still win out for me. I much prefer the P neck, the balance, and the feel. Plus, as I mentioned above, J pups can and do hum in some settings. Split coil P's don't.
P bass tone delivers all I need.

I thought #1 was the P because it sounded phatter but after thinking about it it would because the neck pickup is closer to the neck that the P pups. That is not something one would typically do with the single coil because of the hum. One of my Jazz basses has dual coil Aguilars which would allow me to. Never thought about it because I like the bridge at either 3/4 of the neck pickup on full or both on full and if I wanted a p like tone I use the S-1 switch on either Jazz

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